With a major upgrade on the horizon, the Mumbai division of Western Railway (WR) is set to boost its services starting October 1. The division will introduce 12 new train services, increasing its daily operations from 1,394 to 1,406. Additionally, 10 existing services will be upgraded from 12-car to 15-car rakes, according to a senior railway official, the Indian Express reported.
Annual Timetable Revisions
These timetable revisions are part of the Indian Railways’ annual update, mandated by the Railway Board every October. This year, WR will focus on revising suburban services, while long-distance train adjustments will be deferred until January to minimize disruptions for passengers.
A significant change includes reallocating a rake from the CSMT-Borivali Harbour route to the Churchgate-Virar route. The 12 new services will include four between Dadar and Virar, one between Virar and Churchgate, one between Borivali and Churchgate, two between Churchgate and Andheri, three between Churchgate and Goregaon, and one between Churchgate and Nalasopara. In addition, six services will be extended, three in each direction, and 16 other services will see operational changes, such as a shift from slow to fast services for certain trains.
The capacity enhancement will see the number of 15-car services rise to 209 from the current 199. This follows an increase last November when WR upgraded 79 air-conditioned 12-car services to 96. In October 2022, the service count rose from 1,375 to 1,383, with 15-car services increasing to 106 from 79, and air-conditioned services growing from 48 to 79.
